Henry Moore sculpture sells for £19.1m

A bronze abstract nude by the British sculptor Henry Moore fetched four times
its estimate at the opening of a major fortnight of modern and contemporary
art sales in London.

Henry Moore's Reclining Figure

By Telegraph staff and agency

6:34PM GMT 08 Feb 2012

British sculptor Henry Moore was the top lot at a modern and impressionist art sale last night, which went on to far exceed total sale estimates.

Moore's Reclining Figure: Festival soared to £19.1 million pounds compared with pre-sale estimates of £3.5-5.5 million. Christie's said it was an auction record for the artist.

According to preliminary figures, Christie's overall sold art worth £135.0 million (slightly under $214 million), topping the high estimate of £127.1 million as the London art world enters a two-week period of auctions that are off to a strong start.

In the surreal section, Christie's also broke the auction record for Spanish painter Joan Miro when Painting-Poem went for £16.8 million, double its estimate.

Vincent Van Gogh's Vue de l'asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy, from the collection of the late Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor, raised £10.1 million ($16 million) versus expectations of £5.0-7.0 million.

"As the crown jewel of her art collection, we are delighted with the price achieved for Van Gogh's 'Vue de l'asile', a profoundly beautiful work from one of creative high points of the artist's career," Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie's Americas, said in a statement.